The top 10 performing IPOs in Australia in 2017

A surge in small-cap listings powered IPOs in Australia to a 61.6% average return in 2017, according to the annual OnMarket Report.

These smaller ASX listings — IPOs of less than $50 million — returned an average 69.8%. Compare that the ASX200 index which rose 7% in 2017.

The number of IPOs was 113, up from 96 in 2016 and 85 in 2015. The total raised was $6 billion.

The top performing IPOs for 2017:

Source: OnMarket

Ardea Resources listed in February 2017 and raised $5.1 million at 20 cents a share. At the time of the prospectus, gold was the focus but since then the company is concentrating on cobalt. Today Ardea is trading at $1.25.